


One Step at a Time

by smolassassinchildx (smolassassinchild)



Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-09
Updated: 2010-11-09
Packaged: 2017-10-13 17:45:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/139986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolassassinchild/pseuds/smolassassinchildx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> The fleet celebrates finding a new home. Starbuck and Apollo find themselves alone in a field. All this has happened before...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Step at a Time

**Author's Note:**

> Finale? What finale?

It had been so long since there had been any parties. Well, it had been so long since there had been anything to celebrate. Finding a planet to settle on, seemed to merit a party, complete with fresh booze made from some local berries brewed up in Chief's still.

Lee sat with his cup of liquor surveying the people around him. He hadn't felt so much joy and warmth in one place in such a long time--music and laughter and hell, even the Cylons seemed to be having a great time. Looking around, though, several absences were painfully apparent. His father and Roslin leaving the most prominent gap--the two people who had led this fleet for so long, one having left this world, the other taking time away to grieve. And more, all the people who did not get the chance to make it this far--pilots, civilians... _Dee_. Lee took another long swig from his glass.

The strangest absence, however, was one Kara Thrace. Lee had been so sure he'd seen her not ten minutes ago...well less seen and more heard, her laughter ringing out louder than the crowd as she danced with Karl, making jokes to Sharon about stealing her husband. (Or maybe it just seemed that way to him.) Lee left his log perch, striding off into the night.

The noise of the party had long faded into the distance when he finally found Kara, perched on a rock formation and staring up into the night sky. Her hand was clenched around her old Top Gun stein. She didn't seem to notice as Lee approached and settled down next to her, but didn't startle when he spoke. "Better hang on to that," he said, a wry smile crossing his lips. "It's a regular piece of history."

"Damn straight." Kara grinned. "They're gonna put it in a frakking museum one of these days."

Lee scrubbed a hand over his face. "Vices of Galactica's pilots. Your mug will go right next to the stack of skin mags from Hot Dog's locker."

"Hex's fuzzy handcuffs?" Kara supplied with a laugh.

"Thumper's candy bar wrappers." Lee shook his heads. "Lords, I swear, he still has some. How did he pull that off?"

"A really good hiding place." Kara lifted the mug to her lips once again. "I never found it." The laughter settled away, leaving nothing but the sounds of the party in the distance and the wilderness at night. After a moment, Kara set the mug aside, twisting to face Lee, her voice low. "What about you, Lee? What's your vice?"

 _Parties, drinks, and being along in a field with Kara, apparently,_ he thought. Lee watched her face in the moonlight, the pattern of shadows on her cheeks and lips either shrouded in blackness or dazzlingly bright. For a brief moment, he wondered if this was going to play out the way it did the last time. All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again. And maybe he's a frakking idiot for letting himself fall into this again, but she's right there. _Right there_ , her eyes half-lidded and her lips just inches from his own. When did he get this close to her?

And then there was no distance anymore, just his lips pressed to hers. But it wasn't the same as last time. Back on New Caprica, Lee remembered the frantic rush, the feeling of time running out, the need to feel skin on skin now before he lost his nerve, lost his chance, lost her. This kiss was meandering, finding its way. He'd never kissed Kara Thrace like this before, had never imagined kissing Kara Thrace like this before. But right then and right there, it felt right. It felt like he still had something to hold on to.

When they finally broke apart after gods only knew how long, Kara stared at him with her lips pursed. She studied his face before she spoke, voice hushed. "What was that?"

"I don't know...but it felt like something." Lee shifted, moving closer, leaning against Kara and letting her lean his head on him. "So... what do we do now?"

"Beats the hell out of me." Kara rolled her eyes to the sky and laughed, soft but bright and Lee realized that they weren't running out of time, there was no need to push or to rush...because they had given themselves enough hell, he wasn't sure what he would do if he lost this too.

"Well, we'll figure it out. We've got all the time in the worlds now."

Kara pushed herself to her feet, stretching. "And who do we have to thank for that?"

"You're going to milk that for everything it's worth, aren't you?"

"I found a frakking planet, Lee. And I found a good one too."

"That remains to be seen."

"Oh, frak you." She caught his face with both hands and kissed him like lightning before racing off towards the settlement. It took Lee a moment to realize what had just happened before he took off after her; the space between them was closing one step at a time.

\--End--


End file.
